Other 2012 books I loved:
- Varamo, by Cesar Aira, the funnest book I read in 2012 about a soon-to-be poet and his hilarious dark night of the soul,
- Pure, by Andrew Miller, expertly written historical fiction with a dry wit, set in pre-Revolutionary Paris,
- The Forgiven, by Lawrence Osborne, a book the New York Times called "sleek" and "panther-like," a gripping and moody page turner set in the Moroccan desert,
- Second Person Singular, by Sayed Kashua, is a not-to-be-missed meditation on identity set in Israel among Arab-Israelis trying to figure out their place in a country that can't figure out what to do with them, and
- The Watch, by Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya, an incredible and riveting war novel set in Afghanistan that isn't afraid to take sides even as it shows a single event from numerous points of view.
Before Night Falls, by Reinaldo Arenas. Read this, please! The memoir of the dissident Cuban writer is the book I read in 2012 that I think I want everyone to read.
Moffie,
by Andre Carl Van Der Merwe. It's a searing, unforgettable story about a gay man in the South African army and a must-read.Freedom in Exile, the memoir of the 14th Dalai Lama.
He Died With His Eyes Open, brilliant literary crime by Derek Raymond, himself a fascinating character!
Happy Birthday, Turk! the funnest crime novel I read this year, by Jakob Arjouni, about an ethnically Turkish German P.I. out to solve the murder of an immigrant.
Cold Comfort Farm, by Stella Gibbons. Irresistible fun about a posh young lady visiting her country cousins.
The Goodbye Kiss, by Massimo Carlotto. Silly, trashy fun about a love-to-hate psychopath on the loose in Italy.
The Sisters Brothers, by Patrick deWitt. Simply delightful Western black comedy about a pair of hired killers and their last big job.
The Long Song, by Andrea Levy. What a great, engrossing, gorgeous book!
Stoner, by John Williams, a quiet and somewhat depressing novel about an academic in the early 20th century. I loved it even though it was kind of a downer.
Season of Migration to the North, by Tayeb Salih. If you've never read this masterful Sudanese writer, make room in your schedule for this tight, amazing novel about cultural clash.
When I Was Otherwise, by Stephen Benatar. An extraordinary book from an extraordinary writer, this haunting and harrowing family story is dysfunction at its messed-up best. A brother and sister live with their sister-in-law and the three create a brilliantly frightening domicile.
What made your tops-of-the-year list this year? What are you excited about in 2013?
19 comments:
We don't overlap by much! I remember reading Cold Comfort Farm years ago and really liking it. I have my best of Imprint Friday up today and will post my general best-of list on Monday.
I haven't read any of those and don't think I own any of them either. My wish list is growing by leaps and bounds!
Love that your list has so many titles I haven't seen anywhere else- sound like fantastic reads. Especially intrigued by The Forgiven - "sleek" and "panther-like" - sounds delicious.
The Goodbye Kiss sounds good, totally me, I will have to go check it out.
My favourite was Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, my first time reading her, amazing.
Most I have never heard of.
Happy Holidays
Marce, Rebecca is incredible and one of my all-time favorites! :-)
I haven't read any of these, but purchased Stoner after hearing you and Matt both loved it. Absolution is on my wish list. Great list, Marie!
This year saw me read some very interesting books including Repudiation by Rashid Boudjedra, A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway, The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, Absalom, Absalom by Faulkner, White Teeth by Zadie Smith etc.
I was also able to read the most books since I began blogging in 2009. I hope 2013 will present even more opportunities for reading and for blogging.
On the list I read Tayeb Salih's Season of Migration to the North.
Love seeing everyone's year end lists! Sad to say I haven't read any of these, but you're tempting me! :)
Impressive that a book read in Feburary remained your favorite for the rest of the year!!
Wishing you a wonderful new year filled with great reads.
You read some amazing books this year, Marie. I stuck mostly to lighter reads this year as that's where my mood took me.
Have a Happy New Year!
I haven't read any of your favorites :(
I hope 2013 brings lots of joy and great reading.
I really liked Absolution and Pure too. I tried Forgiveness but disliked the people so much I gave up before the police even showed up! I will try again. You must try Let It Be Morning if you liked Second Person Singular by Sayed Kashua. I want to read Second Person but my library is not ordering it - phooey.
I may try The Watch. I liked The Sisters Brothers too, and Stoner is almost a classic it's so good. I want to read When I Was Otherwise but again the library isn't buying it. If you haven't read Benatar's Wish Her Safe at Home, I highly recommend it.
Happy reading in 2013 Marie.
I love it that all of these are unfamiliar to me!
neat! you will find my list in this post:
http://wordsandpeace.com/2013/01/03/year-of-reading-2012/
Second Person Singular sounds very interesting! Happy New Year!
No overlap at all in our lists, but I've been meaning to read the Andrea Levy novel and The Sisters Brothers. The book I read in 2012 that I want everyone to read is Goodbye for Now by Laurie Frankel!
I haven't read any of these books, but you put a few of them on my radar. Happy New Year!
You have some very interesting titles there. I'm really curious about He Died with his Eyes Open and Stoner and I think I will have to read something by Stephen Benatar soonish!
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